Apparatus for insertion or assembly of paper sheets



Nov. 24, 1931. A. wlNKLER ETAL APPARATUS FOR INSERTION OR 'ASSEMBLY OF PAPER SHEETS Filed Oct. 21, 1930 I5 Sheets-Sheet 1 In'ye/ztors.

E fer vvqvOf/ ef.

May yan/1 4Joer Nov. 24, 1931'. A. wlNKLER ETAL b 1,833,311

APPARATUS FOR INSERTION ORl ASSEMBLY OF `PAPER SHEETS Filed oct. 21, 19:50 :s sheets-sheet 2 T/zYe/zzors. jfred h/z'nkler and Max, D'nrceef A Pew v Jforrzey.

NOV' 24, .1931. A. wlNKLER ETAL APPARATUS FOR INSERTION OR ASSEMBLY OF PAPER SHEETS Filed Oct. 21, 1930 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 Ama/Wy A fzVenors. vglfred" Win/@Zier Nand May, Dunrvefw er M JO ifo/'nef an l Patented Nov. 24, 1931 UNITED STATES PATENT OF- ICE .ALFRED WINKLEB AND MAX D'ULNNEBIER, OF N'EUWIED, GERMANY` APPARATUS non INSERTION on ASSEMBLY or PAPER. sPrEE'rs l Application Med October 21,v 1930, Serial No. 490,212, and in Germany Iuly 13, 1928.

This invention relates to apparatus forl as a whole is seize and conveyed b one of the drive-inknives and is inserte in the second innermost part which is opened in like manner, whereupon both parts together are inserted into the next parts successively' until finally the entire work has been assembled and is conveyed from the machine to the delivery stack.

With these well known arrangements it has not so far been possible to insert unfolded as well as folded sheets into the foldknife.

One object of the present invention is the rovision of drive-in-knives that can be used or the insertion or addition of unfolded as well as folded sheets. A further object is to provide drive-in-knives having suction channels and suction openings and adapted to n handle folded sheets in the usual manner by penetration into theircentralfold, .and to also handle individual unfolded sheets that are seized by suction and are conveyed onward to 'the place of introduction into the next part of the work.

A still further object of this invention is the provision of an improved apparatus wherein, in addition tothe positions for'the individual folded sheets in the usual machine, additional positions are folded sheets, so that un olded sheets are introduced without changing. the means for the insertion of the folded sheets and without reducing the number of folded sheets that can be assembled in each .complete-newspaper or rovided for the unthe like. The drive-in-knif seizes first an individual unfolded sheet by means of suction and inserts this into the folded sheet lying innermost of the work as a whole whereupon this sheet together with the individual sheet, as above described are inserted in the second innermost sheet of the work as a whole and so on.

Further objects of this invention are the provision of improved forms of 'drive-inknives having needle points or tongs adaptf edto grip the sheets of paper so that they V may be emplo ed for the conveyance and handling of un olded as well as folded sheets.

With these and other objects in view the invention consists in the novel construction and arrangement of parts hereinafter described illustrated in the accompanying drawings and particularly pointed out in the appended claims, it being understood that various changes in the form, construction and operation may be made without departing from the spirit of the invention or sacrificing any of the advantages thereof.

In the drawings:

Fig. l is a diagrammatical plan view of the machine; Fi 2 is a cross section through a drive-in-knife; Fig. 3 is a vertical section taken in the direction of the ath of the work through the feed device or the unfolded sheets; Fig. 4 is a vertical longitudinal section through a drive-in-knife and the parts containin the continuation of its suction channel; Fig. 5 is a'plan view of Fi 4; Fig. 6 is a cross section through a modi ed lform of drive-in-knife equi ped with needle points and through the mac ine table with a movable flap for bending the front edge of the sheet upwards ;v Figi 7 is a plan View of the same; Fig. 8 is a cross section Athrough a drivein-knife provided with grip ing tongs; Fig. 9 is a plan view thereof and ig. 10 is a diagrammatical view showin the operation of the device illustrated at igs. 6 and 7.

The machine shown diagrammatically in Fig. 1 is equipped with six feed stacks for I foldedsheetsso arranged that the arrows 'I' to-VI indicate the direction in which theindividual folded sheets are fed and deposited in the machine in the positions indicated in dotted lines. By suitable or well known means which, however, do not come within the scope of the present invention, `each of the folded sheets while being deposited in the machine, is simultaneously opened at. the corner designated by an arc so that the drivein-knife 1 may enter between the folds of the sh eet either alone or carrying a sheet or sheets previously engaged thereby. A series of nine similar knives 1 are provided in the example shown, but it will be understood that other convenient numbers ma be employed. Movable stops 2 are provid to insure the proper positloning of each 4part of the work until the drive-inknife has full penetrated as far as the folded ed e whic 1s parallel to the leading edge of t e knife as it is enaged thereby.

rawing is so arranged that it is ossible to work either with one delivery at or A or with deliveries at both A and A. one delivery is desired, and assuming that the delivery A alone is to be used, the outer wrappin part of the entire Work (the main sheet of t e newspaper) is deposited as a rule in the place designated by arrow VI in the machine, while the inner pages or sheets to be covered by this part, lie 1n the laces I to V, so that a maximum of ve foldped sheets can be inserted in the outer or main sheet. The finished work, when it has reached the delivery place a, is seized by a gripper 3 rotating'in the direction of the arrow and is delivered thereby to the conveyin conveys it to the receiving stac or elsewhere. If the number of folded sheets to be inserted in the main sheet is less than three, the machine can work on both sides. In this case outer work parts or-vmainsheets, can be deposited both at III and VI so that, into the main sheet at III the inner sheets from I and II are inserted and, into the main sheet at VI, the inner sheets from IV and V can be inserted. In this A case the distributor A also becomes effective and one of its grippers 5 always seizes the finished work as it arrives at the position af and deposits it on the conveying belt 6. During this two-sided operation of the machine the drive-in-knife 1 therefore is idle as it ieaves the points a and a. If the drive-in-knives are therefore, according to the invention, provided with suction channels and suction openings, they can seize by suction and convey an individual un folded sheet brought into their path between the positions a' and I and between a and IV. For this purpose., in addition .to the feed sta- I tions I to VI 'for folded sheets, the two addivas tional stations VII and VIII for unfolded sheets are provided. I-Iere, too, the dotted lines indicate the position of the sheet as fed to the machine and at the moment when it is engaged by the drivein-knife, and the corresponding position of the knife at the. moment of engagement is also shown in dotted The machine shown on the- If only belt 4 which n lines. For the operation of the suction means From the suction channel 8 the suction ports.

10 open in the upper side of the drive-inknife. At the place of attachment of the knife 1 on the carrier 7, the knife is formed with a part 11 of rectangular cross section anda passage 12 extending in the longitudinal direction of the knife is provided in this part 11 and forms a continuation of the suction channel 8 in the knife itself. For the attachment of the knife to its carrier a bolt or stud 13 is screwed into a vertical bore-hole 14 extending through the carrier 7. The stud 13 is' formed with a passage 15 which cornmunicates by means of a port 16 with the said passa e 12. In this manner the suction channel 8 1n the knife 1 communicates with the passage in the stud 13 and with the bore-hole 14 in the rotary knife-carrier 7 whose lower surface engages closely againstl a smooth annular surface 17 on the machine frame. Corresponding to the places where the suction effect on the individual sheets has to take lace, there are arranged in the 47, so that, at the moment when the suction commences, the bore-hole 14 of the knife carrier 7' communicates with the groove 18 and the said holes 14 move out of register with said grooves 18 when the suction device has completed the introduction of the sheet. A pipe 19 communicates permanently with the groove 18, and serves to connect the suction line to a rotating suction pump, so that during the entire length of the communication between bore-hole 14 of the knife-carrier 7 and the groove 18 in the ring 17, a continuous suction and thereby a positive transportation of the sheet is ensured.

In order to show how the different unfolded sheets reach the drive-in-knife 1, an example of a feed device for the individual sheets is shown at Fig. 3, although the form of the feed mechanism forms no part of the present invention. The/stack S formed by the individual unfolded sheets is carried in an adjustable frame 20 of any well known kind and rests upon loosely rotating supporting rollers 21. At the right hand side Fig. 3, the stack S rests upon a ledge 22; and between this ledge 22 and the righthand supporting roller 21 there is a space within which the stack has no support and which is not large enough to permit a sagging of the sheets. The axis of the said sup orting roller 21 is made as a hollow sha connected to a suction line connected to the suction devices 23 which are of well known form and several of which may be provided in uniform distribution in the direction erpendieular to the plane of the drawings. he suction devices 23, whose angle of oscillation is indicated in the drawings by dotted lines, bear in .their highest position uniformly against thebottom sheet of the stack, take hold of this sheet by suction and pull it away from the stack beyondthe ledge 22; in'this connection the supporting roller 21 serves as a bending ed e and the sheet lies with its bent part on a ro ler 24 arranged underneath the stack S and subdivided for the accommodwA tion of the section devices 23. At the same time, the front edge of the sheet reaches the recess 25 of a second roller 25, which bears yieldingly against the roller 24. Both rollers 24 and 25 rotate against each other in the direction of the arrows, s that the sheet extend- 1n into the roller 25 is seized between both ro 1ers and is pulled from the stack. Beneath the point of contact of the two rollers 24, 25, paper guides are provided and two counterrollers or rolls 27 bearing against the roller 24 assist in the transportation of the sheet, and have the effect, since the roller 25 makes two revolutions to one sheet withdrawal, of avoiding an interruption in the movement of the sheet during the second passage of the recess 25. The line C in Fig. 3 indicates the position of a fully withdrawn sheet deposited on the aper guides 26. The left hand part in tlie drawings, hangs freely downward towards the machine table 28 above which the entire device is arranged at such a height that the rotating drive-inkmves 1 may pass between the table 28 and y the lower edge of the paper guides 26.

The adjustment of the feed device is such that the sheet C and the drive-in-knife 1 ar rive at the same time in the' positions shown 1n Fig. 3. In Fig. 1 where the feed devices for the unfolded sheets are not shown in detail, the corresponding positions of the sheets modification of the drive-in-knife a series of' needle points' are provided for engagement with the paper. The knife 1 is formed with 1 a series of recesses 2 (three in the example shown), and each recess accommodates a needle 3 which is clamped by means of a small late 5 which is secured to the drive-i'n-knife y means of screws 4.-. The plates 5 are so shaped that the knife surface has no projections of any kind that might interfere with its entry between the folds of the sheets. The

points of the needles 3 are bent in such a way that they project to a slight extent below the under-surface of the knife through a recess 6 in the front edge of the knife.

The machine table 7 on'which is deposited the sheet 8 fed from a stack, is provided at each such feed position, with an opening 9 which lies para lel to that edge ofthe work which is intended to come within the fold of a folded sheet. Each opening 9 is provided with a iap 10 which swings about an axle 12" carried in the bearings 11', in such man ner that the edge remote from the axis 12 can be lifted above the surface of the table 7. For this purpose the flap 10 carries a lever arm 13 connected to a rod 14 moved by the action of a cam not shown. In the points where the projecting needles 3 would come into Contact with the edge of the flap 10', the latter is formed with recesses 15 to permit a free passage to the needles. The operation is as follows Intermittent swinging of the ilap 10 takes place only at the feed places where unfolded sheets are deposited. The means foretl'ecting this swinging of the Hap for example the cam actuating the Vconnecting rod 14', can therefore be thrown into or out of operation at will. When a part of the work has been deposited in the feed place inside of the machine, the flap 10 is swung upwards so that the' sheet 8 is lifted along its front edge to such an extent that it lies in the path of the amA passing needle points and, being sutliciently .stil'ened by the recessed Hap 10, the paper is penetratedand carried along by the needles. The fia l0 is swung down again immediately a ter the sheet has been seized by the nee les.

A special advantage of this device is illustrated diagrammatically at Fig. 10. This relates to the frequently occurring -cases wherein the individual parts which are fed to the machine already in themselves comprise two parts completely detached from each other, forv example of an eight-page doubly folded newspaper part a (Fig. 10) and a newspaper art b consisting of two or four pages alreadr'iT inserted in a. In this case it may very readily happen that, through some fault these two parts lying one inside the other are not opened, for the insertion of.

another part, at the central fold of part b,

4as would be desirable, but, as assumed by way of example in Fig. 10 between the upper half of the art a and thestill closed part b. In movlng the-whole onward by means of ordinary drive-in-knives or such as are provided with suction devices, there would be no assurance that. the loosely lying part b would be positively conveyed. With the use of the drive-in-kmves equipped with needles 3', on the other hand, the needles, in view of the stifening which is afforded by the central fold, also act on the loose part b. Referring to Figs. 8 and 9,'this modification comprises a drivesin-knife 1 provided with a gripping tongs. This knife carries laterally at its rear or following edge two3bosses or ears 16 in which is supported an arm 18 through the medium of a pin 17. This arm carries at its free end a rail 19 adapted to lie flat on'the surface of the drive-in-knife 1 throughout its entire length and which `on the arm 18 has a depending arm 2 scribed, being caused to (an be removed from it by rocking the arm- 18 on the pin 17', as is shown in dotted lines in Fig. 3, so that the rail 19 together with the drive-in-knife 1" thus act as tongs. A torsion spring 20 tends to hold the rail 19 upon the drive-in-knife 1". A bearing boss 1. carrying a roller 22 which engages cam surfaces on the` frame of the machine so that :1n upward movement of the arm 18 and a lifting of the rail 19 can be effected at the desired times. The operation of this device is as follows:

. The sheet is fed in the manner above deass between the knife 1" and its rail 19 w ich latter is held in its raised osition. The sheet may be fed at a speed which is a little greaterthan that of the knife so that at a definite moment the sheet assumes a position in which, as shown, its leading edge lies parallelto the front edge of the drive-in-knife and projects beyond the same to a slight extent. t that moment the rail 19 descends upon the drive-in-knife l,

so that the sheet is seized and carried along. As soon as the sheet has been inserted in its proper part (but, at latest, at the place where the assembled work is removed from the drive-in-knife) a suitably shaped cam surlface lifts the rail 19 to an extent which is li3ust sufficient to again release the sheet held it. yAlthough the drawings and the above specification disclose the best modes in which we have contemplated embodying our invention, We desire to be in no Way limited to the details of such disclosure for in the further practical application of our invention, many changes in the construction and in the details may be made as circumstances require or experience suggests without departing from Y the spirit ofthe invention within the scope vto 1,sss,s11

thereof to convey same with the knife to a folded sheet.

3. Apparatus for assembling folded and unfolde sheets of pafper comprising a rotating drive-in-knife or engaging the fold of a sheet to convey the same to a successive sheet and means associated with the knife Vfor gripping the front edge of'an unfolded sheet to convey the same to the next successive sheet, y

4. Sheet assembling apparatus of the character described for handling folded and un folded sheets, comprising a plurality of fold engaging knife may temporarily grip and convey unfolded sheets.

6. Apparatus for assembling folded and.

unfolded sheets of paper comprisinga rotating drive-in-knife, means associated with the knife for gripping unfolded sheets 'to convey same with the knife to the folded sheets, and automatic control mechanism for said gripping means.

7 Apparatus for assembling folded and unfolded sheets of paper comprising a rotating drive-inknife for engaging the fold of a sheet to convey the same to a successive sheet, means associatedwith the knife for gripping the front edge of an unfolded sheet to convey the same to the next successive sheet, and mechanism .for controlling said gripping means to grip and to release said unfolded sheets. 7

8. Sheet assembling apparatus of the character described comprisin a pluralityof rotating drive-in-knives, a p urality of stations for the reception of the assembled Work from the apparatus, a plurality of stations for the reception of folded aand unfolded sheets for assembling and delivery at one or other or both of said stations, and means whereby said knives are caused to grip and positively conve unfolded sheets. n

9. pparatus for assembling sheets within a folding sheet or cover comprising a knife for engaging the folds of the sheets to convey and insert the same .into the next successive sheet, and suction means whereby the fold-engaging knife may grip and convey an unfolded sheet.

10. Apparatus for assembling 'folded and unfolded sheets' of papercom rising a series of rotating drive-in-knives an suction meansV izo associated with said knives for gripping unfolded sheets to convey same with the knives to the folded sheets.

11. Apparatus for assembling folded and unfolded sheets of paper comprising a rotating drive-in-knife for engaging the fold of a sheet to convey thesame to a successive sheet suction means associated with the knife for gripping the front edge of an unfolded sheet to convey the same to the next succes' sive sheet, and suction control means to de-` termine the duration of the gripping action.

12. Sheet assembling apparatus of theA character described comprising a plurality of drive-in-knives, a plurality of stations for the reception of the assembled Work from the apparatus, a plurality of stations for the reception of folded and unfolded sheets for delivery at one or other or both of said stations, and suction means whereby the said knives may grip and convey uiifolded as well as folded sheets.

In testimony whereof we have signed our names to this specification.

ALFRED WINKLER. MAX DUNNEBIER. 

